Betrayal Gone Wrong
by MydnytAngel
Summary: My take on how Elena comes back after Katherine stole her body. i havent watched any episodes after that so its a lil AU. May be rated M for later if good reviews :)
1. Chapter 1

Elena's head was hazy, her brain cloudy as she struggled with her surroundings. She felt like she was underwater. Where was she? She blinked heavily, her eyelids feeling as if made from lead. The edges of her vision were tinged in red which only happened when she was well fed, but she couldn't remember the last time she ate. She couldn't remember much of anything she had done recently. She glanced down at herself, her nose wrinkling at her outfit. "These aren't my clothes," she mumbled. Her boobs were nearly falling out of the low cut top she wore and her pants were a size too tight. What woman in this day and age didn't wear a bra? She glanced around, the living room of the boarding house coming into view. Her vision wasn't as sharp as it should be and neither was her hearing. She couldn't stretch her senses out to detect a presence in the house. Her nose however, didn't miss the tell tale sign of old blood. She jumped when the front door opened and she relaxed when saw Stefan. Until he kissed her. She immediately tried to push him away, or tried to. She was barely able to lift her arms, as they rested against his chest. And her heart sank when someone else joined them.

"At least go upstairs," Damon growled.

Elena shook her head, still unable to force her body to move away from Stefan. All she could think about was what Damon had just seen; what he must think. "This isn't… what it looks like Damon," she said and then noticed the blood dripping from his lips. "What happened?"

Damon glared at her. "None of your business," he snapped.

She took a step toward him, or tried to. Her balance was horrible and her boots were killing her feet causing her to stumble. "What the hell?" she grumbled. "What is wrong with me?"

"Elena?" Stefan asked in that mopey voice that snapped her back to reality.

She wobbled as she took the boots off her feet before heading towards Damon. "What's wrong?" And when she reached out to touch him, he slapped her hand away. Hard enough to startle her and make her take a step back. All the years she had known him, he had never ever struck her.

"Don't you ever touch me Elena," he growled. His eyes were red, his veins just barely starting to form.

Tears stung her eyes as she stared at him. "Damon…" she choked. "Why are you being like this?" Surely he couldn't be that angry at a mistake. She didn't even kiss his brother back.

"Yes Damon," Stefan said. "Tell her how you killed half a dozen people."

"That you know of," Damon snarked as he moved around them to pour a drink.

Elena felt sick. He was killing again. But why? "You… you killed someone?' she whispered. "Why would you do that?" Nothing was making sense. Her confusion was mounting as she tried to put everything together, but still she couldn't figure it out.

"He's just lashing out," Stefan said. "Being typical Damon."

"And you're going to be next if you keep pushing my buttons," Damon seethed as he glared at Stefan. "And don't think I won't."

Elena took a step towards Damon once more. "We can fix this Damon," she said. "You don't have to be like this." Let's start with someone she knew. She knew how to help Damon back from the dark side. She could deal with that. She couldn't deal with all the other stuff that seemed to be wrong.

Damon laughed but it was laced with cruelty. She had never heard him so cold and unforgiving. "There is nothing wrong with me Elena," he said. "Not anymore. Thanks to you."

"What did I do…" Her head began to spin and she nearly felt sick. But her eyes flickered black for a quick second then back to brown as her stance changed. Her hips tilted as her eyes hardened. "What are you staring at?"

Damon narrowed his eyes as he looked her over. It was almost like… she was Elena but not quite Elena. She seemed off. She seemed warm one moment and ice cold the next. The tears dried up instantly, her emotions almost turning on and off at the drop of a hate.

She smiled broadly when she saw Stefan. "Stefan," she purred as she reached for him. "I missed you."

A deep growl erupted from Damon as they touched but her eyes flickered again. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he asked angrily. "Are you possessed or something?"

"Something is wrong," Elena whimpered. She felt dizzy and sick. Things a vampire were never supposed to feel. Unless something was horribly wrong.

"Stefan probably pounded you too hard last night," he grumbled, nearly vomiting himself.

Elena's gaze snapped to his as her stomach churned. "What are you talking about?" she asked in confusion. She couldn't have heard him right. She would never, ever, ever go back to Stefan. Not now. Not knowing how much she loved Damon. She could never be with anyone else after Damon. He made her feel alive inside and out.

"Elena," Stefan said, touching her arm.

"Did you think no one would hear you?" Damon fumed as he took a step toward them. "Did you think no one would hear the hours of disgusting romping coming from Stefan's room?" His eyes darkened dangerously. "Did you enjoy it Elena? And now you want to be in my business when you're fucking my brother?"

Elena suddenly had all her bearings as she took a step away from both of them. "I don't know what is going on here but I didn't have sex with Stefan last night," she said, her own anger getting the better of her. She could feel her cheeks turning a bright red, heating up her entire face.

"Elena, I heard you," Damon said. "I wasn't that drunk."

She shook her head as tears slid down her cheeks. "Damon I didn't," she said, looking at Stefan with a helpless expression. "Tell him." Surely Stefan would back her up at such nonsense. Damon must have just been very drunk. Mistaken himself at what he heard.

Stefan seemed beyond conflicted. "You said you made a mistake," he said. "With Damon. And you missed me."

Elena's heart broke, echoing in her ears. "I didn't," she whimpered. She wasn't drunk either. She didn't usually drink. What would possess her to do that? She wanted to work things out with Damon. She knew that. She was just letting him sort himself out. But she wasn't so lonely and impatient that she would go back to Stefan. "I don't remember. I wouldn't do that. I don't remember anything after Tyler's party."

"That was two weeks ago Elena," Stefan said. "And you've been pretty coherent. A little snotty but fine."

"Two weeks?!" she exclaimed. "That's impossible. I was running away from Nadia and then hugging Damon. Then it's all blurry." Her head lolled back briefly but she forced the dizziness away. She felt this before… recently.

But Damon had already put it together. "Katherine," he said softly, moving away from them. He leaned his hands on the window sill as he stared out into the night. The veins disappeared from his eyes as reality sunk in. "Katherine must have taken over Elena's body. Knew it was too good to be true when she was gone."

Stefan sighed. "Oh boy," he said rubbing his face. "It all makes sense. The clothes, the attitude."

Elena stared at Damon's back for a long moment as she tried to process everything. "Can you give us some privacy?" she whispered. She had to talk to Damon in private. She had to make him understand.

"For what it's worth Elena," he said. "I'm sorry."

She ran a shaky hand through her curly hair before approaching Damon. Where should they start? What could she possibly say? "Damon, I don't know what to say," she said softly. Sorry didn't seem to cover the amount of pain that was between the both of them right now. He remained silent so she continued. "I wish she hadn't done this to you and I wish I could undo it but I can't." She struggled not to cry but pushed forward. "I do love you Damon. Even now. We can work this out." He still refused to say anything to her. "Please say something." She moved to stand beside him and that's when she noticed the tears in his eyes. She ducked under his arm to wrap hers around his waist. "I love you." She pressed her face to his shoulder clenching her eyes shut.

For a very long moment, he didn't move but slowly his hand came up to her lower back. "Elena…."

"I would never go back to Stefan," she said, shaking her head. "I wouldn't. I would never… I would never do what she did. You have to believe me Damon. I don't want to be with anyone else."

His head dropped on top of hers with a sigh. "It's okay Elena," he said softly. "I'm sorry I disappointed you."

She pulled back to meet his gaze. "You didn't," she cradled his cheek. "Katherine used us, like she always does. She stole me away from you for her own selfish needs." That still didn't make him feel any better. "Let's make sure she's gone for good. We'll sort the rest out later." If she kept popping back up, who knows what kind of damage she could do.

"What if she's not?" he asked.

Elena chewed on her lip. "Maybe you… should lock me up," she said. "And call Bonnie."

His embrace tightened around her. "I can't do that," he said shaking his head. "You know I hated that before Elena."

"You have to," she said, running her thumb over his cheekbone. It felt so good to touch him, like she had been away from him for years. "It'll be okay Damon." Locking her up was the only way to make sure Katherine couldn't cause anymore problems. And Bonnie could do a spell to correct them. Elena didn't know how but she had faith in her friend.

He gently pulled her hands away from his face and took a step away from her. "No it won't," he said sadly.

She wanted so badly to reassure him but the devastated look on his face froze her voice. Her shoulders slumped as she headed downstairs to the cell. She folded her arms over her chest as Damon reluctantly locked her in. "How are you going to know it's me?" she asked.

"You'll have to tell me something only you and I know," he said. "Something we only shared with each other."

"Call Bonnie," she said with a nod. Damon knew everything about her. Everything. Things no one else knew. She had shared many things with him, things she trusted him to hold secret. Some things big, some things not so big. But she could easily convince him she wasn't Katherine.

He gave her a small smile before disappearing from view. Elena slid against the door, pulling her knees up to her chest as she let the tears finally fall from her eyes. Katherine ruined them. It had taken them so long to get to where they were, and she broke everything between them. The guilt between the two of them was immense. She could feel his loss deep inside her as she rested her head on her arms as cried silently. How they were going to come back from this, she had no idea. Every thing she had planned to get him to change his mind, Katherine had ruined with the ultimate betrayal.

On the other side of the closed door, Damon rested against the wall, his own grief consuming him. She was his whole world and she was gone. He broke his only rule to her, not to kill people. How could she even look at him the same?


	2. Chapter 2

Elena paced her cell anxiously as she listened to the chatter upstairs, which mostly consisted of Caroline, Bonnie and Stefan. She'd been fighting Katherine's presence for the better part of an hour, trying to get her out of her head, but every minute that passed, it was impossibly harder. She wanted Damon; just to be close to him and talk to him. He kept her grounded. She headed to the bars, mumbling his name, surprised to find him sitting outside her cell. "She's getting stronger," she said whimpered. "It's getting harder Damon." If they didn't hurry, she knew she was going to lose herself all together. Katherine was persistent, determined to destroy all their lives and Elena couldn't let that happen. Under no circumstances. She couldn't lose Damon forever, especially not now. After everything they had gone through; Stefan leaving, her turning, Damon being her sire; they had gotten through it all. But this… she had never betrayed Damon. This wasn't even her fault, but it was killing her. She felt responsible.

He got to his feet to face her. "You're strong Elena," he said. He was always trying to reassure her, always looking out for her well being. "Much stronger than Katherine ever was. Much stronger than all of us Elena. Bonnie will fix this." The fact that he used Bonnie's real name was a red flag. Even in the shadows of the basement, she could see the sadness in his eyes. He was losing hope. They were the glue for the group, even if the group didn't support them as a couple. They were the strong ones. Because they had each other. That's how they always pulled through. How were they going to pull through this? She could only imagine what was going through his head.

"She won't fix us," Elena said sadly, leaning against the door suddenly tired. "You'll never look at me the same again." Tears stung her eyes as she stared at the ground beneath her feet. She was trying to be strong, she really was. But every minute away from him, the tension grew, the distance grew. She would never do what Katherine had done; she would never sleep with Stefan. That wasn't the worst part… Damon had heard. He had been in the house. She was sure the majority of her pain was Damon's pain, and she'd gladly take all of it if it spared him.

"Elena…" He reached out to comfort her but she lifted her head, her eyes cold and unforgiving.

"Damon," she purred, Katherine's essence seeping through her skin. "I guess my secret's out."

"I'm going to kill you," he said, folding his arms as he stepped away from the bars. "For real this time."

A dark chuckle escaped her lips. "You should know by now Damon that you can never get rid of me," she said, wiping her cheeks. "Tears a sign of weakness. She doesn't deserve you Damon. You're a killer. You're dark, dangerous, and lethal. You could slaughter this whole town and be done with it. I know who you really are. Elena will never accept your true nature. Yours or Stefan's. Just come back to me. We can be a family, just the three of us. We'll be unstoppable."

"You think Stefan was really going to love you in Elena's body?" Damon growled. "That's not love Katherine. That isn't a family. We were never anything to you. He's never going to love you. You're really delusion honey and you are never going to come between me and Elena again."

"I already did," Katherine said. "She'll never see past you killing people. And you'll never get over the fact that she slept with Stefan. See me and Elena… we're not so different Damon. We have a lot more in common than you think. It was only a matter of time before she realized that you were nothing to her. She just wanted to take you for a test drive. Even as a vampire, she couldn't replace me. You will never love her like you love me. And the sooner you realize that, they happier we will all be."

"So you say," Damon said as Bonnie came down the stairs. "Well?"

"I'm going to correct their essences," Bonnie said firmly, her burning eyes piercing through Katherine. "It should tether Elena to her own body."

"Should?" Damon asked, angrily.

"Without Katherine's corpse to put her in; it might not work. But I didn't see another way Damon. Elena is trapped… her soul is at stake," Bonnie said, as her eyes closed, she began to chant.

"Stop!" Katherine howled, trying to squeeze her head. "Please!" Her body convulsed as she collapsed to the floor. Her eyes rolled up into her head and Damon clenched his fists to keep from going to her. Katherine's back bent at a painful angle before dropping in a crumpled heap as Bonnie finished the spell.

"How do we know if it worked?" Damon asked.

"We won't until she wakes up," Bonnie said. "And that could be awhile. If at all." She wiped her face, her magic still taking some toll on her, but not enough to falter her. "She's my best friend Damon. I wouldn't have risked losing her if I didn't see another way."

"I won't let anything happen to her." Damon growled as he opened the cell, carefully scooping her up to lay her on the bed. He kissed her forehead softly. "I love you," he whispered. "And I promise you I'll make this right somehow." With a heavy heart he locked the cell behind him, resuming his perch next to her cell.

Elena's eyes fluttered open, her vision sharp, her hearing picking up every noise the old house made. She sat up, rubbing her face, feeling more like her normal self. Her dirty self and hungry self, but she was feeling much better. She made her way toward the door, smiling a little seeing Damon waiting, as usual with a sad look on his face. She officially hated that look and she was going to do everything in her power to make him smile again.

"You're awake," he said in relief coming to the bars.

"Did it work?" Elena asked. Things definitely felt different, but they couldn't put anything past Katherine. She was capable of anything, and she always seemed to be one stop ahead of them. She wanted a break, even for a little bit.

"We weren't sure you were ever going to wake up," he said. "It's been three days… So I hope you're okay." His muscles were bunched and tense, ready for a fight, ready to run from her. Ready to protect himself from anymore emotional damage that might come to him. He had been through a lot, and all she wanted to do was to put her arms around him and never let him go.

"I feel more like myself," she said nodding. "My disdain for pickles is still quite strong." That was their first real moment together and she would never forget that trip. They saved each other's lives and he had earned her trust by not compelling her.

The barest of smiles graced his lips, but only for a second. "Not even the all mighty Stefan knew that?" he asked.

She frowned as she leaned against the bars. "I shared a lot of things with you Damon," she whispered. "And only you. Only you know about that special spot right on the back of my neck. Only you know how much I hate pickles. Only you know how my heart skips a beat when you look at me, when you touch me. The way you're looking at me right now… you must be able to tell the difference at this point."

Damon unlocked the door, but neither of them seemed to know what to say. "Guess we should talk," he said.

Her throat tightened but she nodded. "I guess we should," she agreed, moving around him to go upstairs. She felt closed in downstairs. There were so many horrible memories down there, and she had spent more than her fair share of time in that cell. Even though she didn't need to breathe, she felt like she was being suffocated and it was instant relief to come upstairs. "Anyone else here?"

"No," he said, following close to her, but not close enough. "Caroline thought it would be a good idea for us to be alone."

"She knows us well," Elena said, facing him as he stood on the other side of the room. They couldn't talk about this with an audience. It was no one's business and she did not want any judgments. Everyone would expect her to lecture him, or penalize him for his actions. This was about her and Damon and she was going to have to be the strong one somehow this time. "I don't know where to start Damon."

"Neither do I," he said, collapsing in the arm chair. "I was just so angry Elena. Stefan told me to get you back then slept with you… right under my nose. Or I thought it was you." Stefan was more than a little dense sometimes. She had been blind to it for a long time. But she couldn't understand how he would think its okay to have sex with her. Knowing what she had with Damon, how much his brother loved her… how could he be so thick?

"I should have told you she was doing a spell," she said, wrapping her arms around her middle. She had been selfish and so focused on how she was feeling, she didn't even think of the immanent danger she was in. "I was just so happy to see you and I missed you so much… I just… was so happy to be in your arms. Could have stopped her sooner." She wanted them to be together so badly, to work out what had gone wrong. They had been apart for longer than she could stand and she had lost sight of what was really important.

"She was compelling Matt," he said. "To get information about you so we wouldn't know. How to dress, talk, and act. She got all of it from him."

Matt really didn't know her as well as Damon did. But clearly her childhood friend had given Katherine enough information to fool them for a short time. She wondered what other damage control was going to come up after all this. "I'm sorry Damon," she said taking a step toward him. "I want to undo what happened. God help me I do. And I don't blame you for… anything. You have always been a good man Damon. You have always done what's right, to keep me safe. Without me here… I would never blame you for losing control. You thought I was gone."

"Why doesn't that make me feel any better?" he asked sadly.

Elena slowly sat on the coffee table in front of him. "It's okay to feel everything you're feeling Damon," she said. "Good people feel guilty… and we'll get through it together. Like we always do." He was the best man she had ever known. She knew he had complete control, when he had something worth protecting. Without her… what reason did he have not to shut everything off? She felt the same way. If she lost him… her humanity would be gone forever.

Damon stared at his hands for a long minute. "Elena," he started. "We've been through a lot together since you became a vampire…"

Elena leaned away from him. "You're doing it again," she whispered. "Pushing me away for my own good." She couldn't take her heart being broken by him again, not for her own good. He couldn't walk away from her this time. As bad as things were… they had to fix it. There just was no other way.

"That's not what I'm doing," he said, grabbing her hands. Her skin sizzled where he touched her, but it was anything but painful. "I love you Elena. More than anything. I just…"

She squeezed his hands. "I love you too Damon," she said tenderly. "I never stopped." She wanted to touch him everywhere, feel his muscles beneath her hands, and feel his reaction to her. He was hard and soft all at the same time, and she wanted to feel every part of him against her while she showed him how amazing he was to her. How special he was.

"I wanted to kill those people," he said, getting up away from her. "I liked it. I knew what I was doing… even blinded by grief. I would do it again if you left." It was in their nature to kill. The vampire side of them relished in the bloodshed, she knew the rush that came from the kill. The only thing better was love and theirs was tainted right now. Katherine had done the ultimate betrayal between them, out of both of their controls. And Elena couldn't figure out how to keep him from leaving her forever.

"Well I don't plan on going anywhere," she said, watching him pace around the room.

"I don't think we should stay together just to keep me on the rails Elena," he said with a raise of his eyebrow. "If we ever have a fight again… forever is a long time to babysit me. And I'm going to make mistakes. So are you. This will happen again… more innocent people will die because I get mad."

The real side of Damon wasn't a killer. They were going to have to try harder to solidify their love, and she would spend eternity showing that to him. He would never do this again if he had her. She knew that with 100% certainty. She stared at him with a sad expression, but made her way toward him. "I think we should stay together forever because we love each other Damon," she said, firmly. "I've never loved anyone like I love you and I would never want to be away from you. We have forever to work things out Damon and I will always be yours. I will never belong to anyone else and I will spend the rest of time convincing you, if you let me." She chewed on her lip. "I'm going to get something to eat then shower. Think about what I said." She headed upstairs, leaving Damon with his thoughts.


End file.
